Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-24
..,Vho! JACQUES Florentp Why he

tioninr future expectations"
s.Phew! Monsieur Jacques Florent
has fallen into . Well-lined nest"
Father Philip smiled approvingly.
As his eyes fell upon the occupants OF
two of the carriages in the cortege, he
suddenly exclaimed:
There they are! there they are!'
They were invited, too. it seems.
THAT is a capital joke" he added,
laughing until the tears rolled down
his fat cheeks. "'Tis really a good
Joke! Do you see them?"
'.Do | see whom? l don't see any
thing to laugh at"
There, i'm the sixth carriage, that
tall, light-haircd man at tue side Of
that young girl in a pink dress with a
white hat, is Monsieur de Vauvilain,
the chief bailiff. And in the other
! vehicle. that small, fat man, with the
| lady in green. is Monsieur Chapuis,
the wealthy land owner. There is no
doubt of it, they are both invited to the
wed iingw
"Why, of course they nre, Father
| Philip, or you would not see them in
I carriages following the bride. But tell
me, why do you find it SO funny that
those gentlemen should be invited TO
Mile. Bondurand's weddingp"
"Tis true | almost forget that you
have just arrived and have, as yet,
heard nothing of it, lfyou only knew.
ALI! no. let me laugh"
''There is an amusing story con-
nected with the marriage thenP"
"Amusing il you wish-that is, to
those who are acquainted with the
parties"
"All the same tell it to me, father
Philip, / long IN hear it,"
Being IA well-intormed, loQuaciOus
inn-keeper, Father Philip did not re-
quiro much persuasion. The wedding
train and the crowd had disappeared.
We were alone on the veranda,
where travellers generally slipped their
coffee. | ordered two glasses OF
Madeira, and aftor tasting this the old
fellow commenced as follows:
II must begin by telling you that
Jacques Florent, whom you have just
noticed, and who has married SO well,
was born in this neighborhood. We
used to sec him, when quite small, GO
ing TO the parochial school, his satchcl
on his back, and his hands in his
pockets. He was n civil, well bred
youngstcr. When he met one he
would politely dotI his cap. and when
school was dismissed, he would eve
loaf about the streets instead of going
home. His mother, who manages a
small farm near by, would take him
to school in the morning when she
came to town to sell the milk of her
cows, and would call for him in the
evening, on her way home. She was
n widow, and worked hard to bring
her son up properly.
On his side, little Jacques worke>
hard also. One year he won so many
prizes that he could not carry then
all. Then his mother determined t,
send him to college. She found NJ
sacrifice too great in order to Obtain
the means of paying for his board an'
lodging. She would arise an hon
earlier in the morning and GO to be-
later at night. while all day long sh
would toll like Il slave. Poor Mothe
+. Florent! How she did move about i
. those days! Luckily it was not Ion
!, before the youngster was able to pro
| vide for himself. He first won
scholarship here, another at college
y still another in Paris at the Ecol
Centralc, where he stood ut the hea
: of his classes.
| HE must be n phoenix, then!"
y II don't know about his being
: phGnix, but one thing certain is, tina
: like his mother, he is a hard worker
= and by working hard, always get
on"
= 81 agree with you there"
"Well To cut my story short, b
succeeded. In Paris during tire
= years ho faithfully attended to hi
studies, while he gave lessons here an
. there, and by this means made none
enough to meet his smaller expenses
At last, he passed his final examina
ton successfully, and, with his diplom
). i'm his pocket, le returned home. Hi
= good reputation had preceded hin
and on his arrival M. Bonduran
! offered him a situation in his wooler
. mills
"Ah! yes. Now I understand abor
= the marriage. But how about thos
two that you were laughing abor
y awhile ago? Where do NJ. dc Val
y villain, baiiiff, and M. Chapuis, tn
, landed proprietor, come imp"
i "Hold on, you 60 too fast. In plat
ing Jacques Florent at the head of hi
I factory, NJ. Bondurand had net III
/, least idea of letting him wed hi
: daughter-neither did Nine. Bondu,
! and, ! assure you"
! "Then Mile. Celeste's marriage too
: place against their wishes:?"
! Never in the world"
! Il don't understand it AT all then"
That is not surprising. You don
give me timeto explain things. Yol
may we'll suppose that, with her for
, tune, Mile. Celeste, who IS IL rEarm
/. in@ young person, as you may hav'
: noticed yourself, and who was brough
, up rs n princess, had no end of AL
: mlrers. Every winter Mime. Bon
durand's parlors are thronged witt
= the best society of the town, and at he
> receptions tho richest and most dis
tinguishcd people are to be met. BE
ing an engineer, Paul was invited
. he never failed to attend, but he al
ways remembered his place. Will,
{ Messrs. Chapuis and de Vauvilail
. paraded in the first ranks, letting i
I be known that they were in love witt
= Mile. Celeste. | believe. though, tina.
= they were only in love with her dowry
: Each made UP his mind to win tn,